Mendez vs Shigeoka

Who won Mendez vs Shigeoka?

Yudai Shigeoka beat Wilfredo Mendez by knockout in the 7th round on Sunday 16th April 2023 at Yoyogi #2 Gymnasium in Tokyo.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Minimumweight division, which meant the weight limit was 105 pounds (7.5 stone or 47.6 KG).

This contest was for the WBC minimumweight championship of the world.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Rene Mark Cuarto's and Ginjiro Shigeoka's clash for the IBF Interim World Minimumweight championship.

Mendez vs Shigeoka stats

Wilfredo Mendez stepped into the ring with a record of 18 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws.

Yudai Shigeoka made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 6 wins and 0 draws.

Wilfredo Mendez was the older man by 1 year, at 26 years old.

Mendez had a height advantage of 2 inches over Shigeoka. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Both Wilfredo Mendez & Yudai Shigeoka fought out of a southpaw stance.

Mendez was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 14 more fights, and made his debut in 2016, 3 years and 3 months earlier than Shigeoka, whose first professional fight was in 2019. He had fought 106 more professional rounds, 144 to Shigeoka's 38.

Wilfredo Mendez went into the fight ranked number 9 by the WBA, 7 by the WBC and 2 by the WBO at minimumweight.

Yudai Shigeoka was ranked number 4 by the WBA, 3 by the WBC and 3 by the WBO in the 105lb division.

Mendez vs Shigeoka form

Mendez had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Masataka Taniguchi on 14th December 2021 by technical knockout in the 11th round in their WBO World Minimumweight championship fight at Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan.

Previous to that, he had won against Gabriel Mendoza on 8th February 2020 by technical knockout in the 9th round in their WBO World Minimumweight championship fight at Hotel El Panama, Panama City, Panama.

Going into that contest, he had beat Axel Aragon Vega on 26th October 2019 by technical decision in their WBO World Minimumweight championship fight at Cancha Ruben Zayas Montanez, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

Before that, he had defeated Vic Saludar on 24th August 2019 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Minimumweight championship fight at Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.

He had won against Janiel Rivera on 24th May 2019 by split decision in their 10 round contest at Cancha Ruben Zayas Montanez, Trujillo Alto.

Activity check

Mendez's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 49 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.8 rounds on average.

What time did Mendez vs Shigeoka start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 AM UTC at Yoyogi #2 Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, which was 6:00 AM EST or 3:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:00 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Mendez vs Shigeoka?

Wilfredo Mendez was a 7/2 (+350) underdog going into the contest, while Yudai Shigeoka made his way into the ring at 1/6 (-590) with oddsmakers.